A Pause for Reflection: Never Forget the Importance of Enterprise in Social Enterprise

Eric Welsh — a seasoned leader with 28 years of service and
leadership in the United States Army and 3 years in our bottling operation — has
come on board to lead our operations team for EKOCENTER, building out our operating system
and business model.

(Photo Credit: )

I was reading an article the other day in The Guardian by Dan
Zastawny (http://bit.ly/1f9E5yG), in which
he argues that it is only by emphasizing the business side of social enterprise
that the social mission can be achieved and urges all social entrepreneurial
hopefuls to avoid the common trap of prioritizing social aims over viability.
This really strikes a chord with me as EKOCENTER builds
momentum. Without a business model, there is no business — there is no
financial sustainability for the people we are trying to serve. With a business
model, the people we serve are better able to unlock opportunities for
themselves and their communities AND
we are able to better unlock opportunities for partnership. We must never
forget the importance of enterprise in social enterprise.

This ladders up a step further to another phrase: it pays to
be accountable — which can only be fulfilled if we, in fact, have an enterprise
in place that can drive the social impact we aspire to. We have to hold
ourselves accountable, because everyone else is. The sentiment of social impact
remains just that — a sentiment — in absence of the business model that will
make positive change a reality.

With this in mind, we have expanded our team to deliver on
operations. Eric Welsh — a seasoned leader with 28 years of service and
leadership in the United States Army and 3 years in our bottling operation — has
come on board to lead our operations team, building out our operating system
and business model. I hope I won’t see much of him around the office, because
the real magic and his unique added value happens out in the field, where he
will spend most of his time. If you want to read more about Eric, our local
newspaper profiled him earlier this year and you can read it here.

It is by demanding this accountability of ourselves and the viability
of our efforts that we will embolden our partners (and future partners) with a
desire to multiply our efforts — that we will create a social enterprise that
lasts — and thus a social enterprise that can create lasting change for the
people and communities we serve.